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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23900521">Times Being What They Are</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RuPaul's Drag Race RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Greek Mythology AU, Lesbian AU, Major character death - Freeform, Song references to Hadestown Musical, Strangers to Lovers, orpheus and eurydice au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:21:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,172</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23900521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you have to go to hell to get what you want.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Crystal Methyd/Gigi Goode, Gigi Goode/Crystal Methyd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Times Being What They Are</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>
  <em>
    <br/>
    <strong>major character death tw but it isn't like brutal/graphic they just die its chill.</strong>
    <br/>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>hi so this has so many greek mythology references and i tried to explain each god as much as i could but i didn’t want to turn it into a factfile and draw the story away from the queens, but i hope you still get it. but basically this is the story of orpheus &amp; eurydice but it is crystal &amp; gigi. there are also a lot of song references to the hadestown musical but it’s okay if you don’t know them too cause all they add to the story is poetics lmao.</p><p>also there are many different versions of this story. it's a myth that goes all the way back to 530BC (ikr!) so this is like a mixture of all of them??? </p><p>enjoy!</p><p>(and just for quick info: crystal would be orpheus and gigi would be eurydice. eurydice was a nymph in the story so i wrote gigi as one too and here's the definition of that: a mythological spirit of nature imagined as a beautiful maiden inhabiting rivers, woods, or other locations.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Crystal had practically been raised by the gods. Her mother was a muse, and muses were infamous for abandoning those close to them; leaving with no return. The innocent brunette was left to fend for herself in life, living in the many stretched out meadows across Thrace. Although she often felt lonesome, there was nowhere she wanted to be more than Greece. Living there was like a paradise, only she wished she had someone to live in it with.</p><p>As she grew up, the gods gave her strength. The great God Apollo gifted her with a lyre on her sixteenth birthday. Confused as to what it was, the God assisted her by showing her how to pluck each string to create a pleasing melody. Crystal became quickly enticed. The instrument never left her grasp from then on.</p><p>After being gifted the lyre, she discovered her ability to charm the animals and make the trees dance around like a gentle wind was being swept through them. However, there was no <em>real</em> ‘gentle wind.’ It was either blazing hot or freezing cold, with no in-between. It had been years since Crystal recalled seeing a spring or fall. What she wanted most in the world was to strum a song so beautiful and powerful, spring would come again. Unfortunately, that dream came with a slight naiveness to the ways of the world. Many would say she wore her heart upon her sleeve.</p><p>When she was eighteen, she met Hermes, the great messenger of the Olympian Gods. He liked Crystal’s way of seeing things, so he took her under his wing. The God had heard her melody and recognized it. It was an old song of love from long ago. It told the story of the love between the great Gods Hades and Persephone. It was their relationship that messed up the seasons, and instantly Hermes knew that only Crystal had the capacity to bring the seasons back to normal. She had a way with words, and she sang like a bird upon a line.</p><p>Crystal was yet to finish the song, but when it was done, it would bring the seasons back into full bloom, bringing peace to the world and returning it to its rightful state.</p><p>She and Hermes stumbled into a bar one night, not long after Crystal’s twenty-first birthday. She was anxious, as she still had not finished her tune.</p><p>“It’s okay, Crystal. You have all the time in the world,” Hermes comforted, leaning against the bar counter in a cool manner.</p><p>“I just want to help the people,” she replied softly.</p><p>“I know you do.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Gigi was a hungry young girl - a runaway from everywhere she’d ever been. She was no stranger to the world, but she never stayed anywhere long enough for anyone to catch her name. Nobody owned her, nobody knew her, and if someone would ever so much as think they recognized her, it was her time to flee. It wasn’t that she was running from an enemy, but she was running from intimacy, as well as the fatal changes in weather that always seemed to take a turn on her.</p><p>She felt helpless most of the time. The poor blonde yearned to see a flower bloom, for she heard that is what happened during spring. But instead, all she saw was hunger and hardship, no matter where she went. The only friends she ever had either died of starvation or turned on her just like the wind. She had concluded that, in the end, she was better off alone.</p><p>Something curious about the girl was that all her life, she had been followed by a chorus of three women - the Fates. They watched over her as if they were waiting for something to happen. Wherever it was the young girl went, the three women followed close behind.</p><p>Gigi struggled to find a purpose. She would sit in bars alone, dreaming of a belly full of food and a bed she could fall into where the weather wouldn’t follow her.</p><p>It was yet another blistering night when she found herself reeling in the bitter taste of alcohol to feel something. The bar was dark, and there was no music - just a low hum of chatter between groups of friends. She didn’t bother to look at the people surrounding her in case she accidentally made eye contact.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Crystal was only on her second drink when she spotted a young woman across the bar, sitting by a round table and drinking alone. She had dark blonde hair with streaks of gold throughout. Her hair was long and wavy, but it had been tucked under the collar of her large, heavy-looking trench coat. Her neck was covered by a red paisley scarf - much like the one Crystal had around her own neck. She seemed to sink her solemn-looking face into it, and Crystal was overwhelmed with her beauty. The woman was a nymph, which seemed to explain her elegant looks and relaxing presence.</p><p>“You aren’t the most discreet,” Hermes smirked, nudging the girl and causing her drink to splash around.</p><p>“I can’t help it,” Crystal sighed, “Look at her. Isn’t she ethereal?”</p><p>The God smiled and cast a quick glance in the girl’s direction. Crystal had a point. “You wanna talk to her?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Go on.”</p><p>Hermes watched as Crystal pushed her seat back, adjusting the buttons on her cream-colored shirt. “Crystal,” he stopped her briefly before she went ahead.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Don’t come on too strong.”</p><p>The brunette nodded, tugging on one of her tight curls subconsciously as she approached the pretty woman. Right before she sat down, the woman raised her head to shoot a glance at her. She looked amused in an ‘I feel so bad for you right now’ kind of look. Crystal brushed it off.</p><p>“Come home with me,” the brunette rushed out, and the woman squinted her eyes instantly, though she seemed unphased.</p><p>“Who are you?” she snorted.</p><p>“The girl who’s going to marry you,” she swallowed, “I’m Crystal.”</p><p>The woman then shot a glance to Hermes who was watching the conversation with a hand cupped over his mouth, trying to hold back pathetic laughter.</p><p>“Is she always like this?” the woman inquired.</p><p>“Yes,” he responded with a grin.</p><p>She rolled her eyes, turning back to Crystal and giving her a pale, slender hand, waiting for her to shake it, “I’m Gigi.”</p><p>“Your name is like a melody.”</p><p>“A <em>singer?</em> Is that what you are?”</p><p>Crystal felt a blush creep across her face, “I also play the lyre.”</p><p>“Oh, a liar <em>and</em> a player too,” Gigi deadpanned, her expression making it hard to differentiate whether or not she was being serious or not, “I’ve met too many people like you…”</p><p>“Oh no! I’m not like that…”</p><p>Hermes cut in, “She’s not like anyone you’ve met,” both girls turned to look at him, taken aback, “Tell her what you’re working on.”</p><p>Crystal nodded quickly, trying to gain all the confidence back from before. Perhaps she had lost her mojo. Perhaps her charm wasn’t as great as Hermes had hyped it up to be.</p><p>“I’m working on a song,” she stammered, “It isn’t finished yet, but when it’s done, and when I sing it, spring will come again!”</p><p>Gigi was in disbelief. Spring was all she wanted. All these years she had tried to find a way to bring the weather back to how it was before, so there was <em>no</em> way this scrawny little girl’s vocal cords could possibly do the trick. Albeit, the girl was <em>extremely pretty.</em> So much so that she stuck out among others. Out of place yet so, so right. “Come again?” - was all she could think to say.</p><p>“Spring will come.”</p><p>“When? I haven’t seen or fall since,” she scoffed, “Well, I can’t even remember.”</p><p>“That’s what I’m working on,” Crystal asserted, the passion in her voice making it difficult for Gigi not to beam with hope and joy, “A song to fix what’s wrong - to fix what’s broken and make it whole. A song so beautiful, it brings the world back into tune… back into time… and all the flowers will bloom,” she placed a tanned hand over Gigi’s, “When you become my wife.”</p><p>Gigi glanced at Hermes once more, her eyes widening, “Oh she’s <em>crazy.</em> Why would I become her wife?”</p><p>Hermes folded his arms and shrugged, “Maybe because she’ll make you feel <em>alive.”</em></p><p>Now it was the blonde’s turn to feel her face heat up. Although she had been living for twenty-one years, surviving through many obstacles, she had never truly felt alive. She looked at Crystal - really looked at her - and saw the slight quiver of her lips, as if she were going to burst into tears if Gigi didn’t accept her offer. She was so insanely gorgeous, she made Gigi want to throw away the ability to say no, but that didn’t stop the blonde from teasing her a bit.</p><p>“Alive…” Gigi raised a brow, “That’s worth a lot. Do you have your lyre? I want you to play me this song, if it means ‘spring will come again.’”</p><p>“It isn’t finished yet.”</p><p>“Sing it. You wanna take me home?”</p><p>
  <em>“Yes.”</em>
</p><p>“Then sing the song.”</p><p>Hermes floated over, gently passing the lyre that seemed to appear out of nowhere to Crystal. He then led the two women outside, to where the lakes ahead were frozen over for miles. Furthermore; Crystal began to strum.</p><p>The song started off tame, with the mere plucking of three of the golden strings, but then Gigi began to feel a feeling of warmth when Crystal began to sing. There were no real words - just a melody of <em>la la las</em> - but soon enough, somehow, the fates began to join in. They all harmonized together in an almost hypnotic chorus, and Gigi felt faint when she saw the glowing sun appear from behind the clouds, the green grass appear from under the snow, and the trees begin to sway with the rhythm of the tune.</p><p>It was over too fast, and Gigi’s feeling of Euphoria was short-lived, but still, she felt blown away.</p><p>“How’d you do that?”</p><p>“I don’t know. The song’s not finished, though.”</p><p>“Even so, it can do this,” she breathed, experiencing a feeling of floating as she pointed at the small snowdrop buds appearing through the damp grass. “You <em>have</em> to finish it.”</p><p>“Well,” Hermes grinned, “I’ll leave you to it,” and with that he glided away, leaving the songbird and lone wolf alone, in the middle of nowhere, outside a run-down bar.</p><p>Gigi bit her lip and reached forward, connecting her leather fingerless gloved hand to the shorter girl’s. Crystal looked up at her with desperation and promise in her eyes, intertwining their fingers and holding her close.</p><p>The brunette scrunched up her nose, presenting one of the cutest faces Gigi had ever witnessed, before speaking, “So…” her gaze moved to Gigi’s full lips, which the blonde had just dampened with her tongue, “Can I take you home now?”</p><p>“Shut up,” Gigi rushed out, grabbing Crystal by the tatty collars of her white button-up, pulling her closed and pressing their lips together. They both knew what was going to happen moments before it did. And to Crystal, those few moments of tension and anticipation were an eternity.</p><p>Gigi never wanted the beauty of the kiss to end, so she closed her eyes and let her vision fall into darkness. It wasn’t the terrifying kind that she experienced day-by-day - it was comforting. Their lips moved together gently, a tentative dance to them. Gigi’s hands became tangled in Crystal’s mullet as she immersed herself deeper into the kiss. Crystal’s hands ducked under the blonde’s jacket, feeling the soft cotton of her vest below. Her hands moved upward, towards her breast, and smirked against her lips at the lack of bra. Their tongues began to dance together slowly, like a waltz, and Crystal melted into it.</p><p>Unfortunately for them both, it simply couldn’t last forever. They pulled away after five minutes of electronic touching, and Crystal was lost for breath.</p><p>“Will you come home with me?” she asked for the last time that night.</p><p>“Of course,” Gigi simpered.</p><p>“And will you marry me?”</p><p>“Depends how good you make me feel tonight.”</p><p>And oh boy, she made her feel <em>infinite.</em></p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>After weeks of planning and falling in love with one another, the day of their wedding finally came. The day was bright and clear, and both girls dressed up in white lace gowns that their local seamstress had begun working on the day their marriage was announced.</p><p>Crystal was rubbing red berries on her lips to tint them when Gigi walked in, hands clasped behind her back as if she were holding something. The brunette looked at her wife-to-be through the mirror with curiosity.</p><p>“What is that?” she asked, excitement bubbling up inside her. The wedding nerves left her feeling like she was tipsy from alcohol, despite not having drunk anything yet.</p><p>“Persephone gifted it to me to give to you…” Gigi smiled, tugging on her lower lip. She showed Crystal what was in her hands, and the brunette gasped instantly.</p><p>It was a delicately woven flower crown with many different colors and meanings. Crystal had never seen such beauty, and now it was hers. She didn’t want to touch it in case she broke it, but Gigi still approached her from behind and carefully placed it over her head. The brunette admired the variety of flowers in the crown; white camellias, red chrysanthemums, pink gloxinias, calla lilies, red poppies, and orchids.</p><p>“It’s so beautiful,” she sighed, inhaling the many scents of the beautiful flowers.</p><p>“It suits you,” Gigi grinned, gently squeezing her shoulders, “My future wife.”</p><p>“Tell me what they all mean.”</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>Gigi softly twirled a few of Crystal’s curls around her finger as she explained the symbolism behind each flower.</p><p>“The white camellias mean ‘you’re adorable,’ which is quite self-explanatory, the red chrysanthemums mean I love you, because I do. You are the only person I have ever loved and I- well I didn’t think I could feel such strong affection for someone but, for once, I have been proven wrong. The gloxinias mean love at first sight, because I believe that’s what I experienced. When you first spoke to me… I had this overwhelming sensation that I had never felt before, and I think that was Aphrodite telling me that <em>this</em> was love. The calla lilies mean beauty, because that’s what you possess, and the red poppies mean pleasure.”</p><p>Crystal blushed and bit her lip, trying to contain a laugh, as well as a tear.</p><p>“And orchids are the full package. They mean love, beauty, refinement, beautiful lady, and they’re a Chinese symbol for fertility, because someday, I want to start a family with you.”</p><p>The brunette leaned her head back - though still wary of the precious crown on her head - and sniffled, “I love you.”</p><p>Gigi wrapped her arms around her lover’s neck, pecking a gentle, barely-there kiss on the back of her head, “I know you do baby. Now, let me go put a ring on your finger.”</p><p>They walked hand in hand outside, into the grassy meadow filled with townspeople there to celebrate the two lovebirds. A choir of muses sang as they walked down the aisle, petals being thrown at them by the children of their neighbors. The weather was just right that day, the grass was green and damp beneath their bare feet, and the sky was blue - much like Gigi’s blue eyes.</p><p>They exchanged vows, as any couple would, and Hymanios, the god of marriage, blessed the day.</p><p>“You may kiss the bride,” he said joyfully, and the two girls squealed in excitement as they pulled one another in, whispering <em>‘I love yous’</em> as well as other sweet nothings against one another’s lips, inaudible to their audience.</p><p>The two of them had been lonesome for so long to the point that they didn’t even know they were lonely, but when they took each other in their arms, suddenly there was sunlight all around them. The world seemed so bright and warm, and it shone like it never did before. And - just for a moment - they forgot how dark and cold it could get.</p><p>“Say that you’ll hold me forever, and the wind won’t change on us,” Crystal mumbled against her wife’s lips, “Say it will always be like this.”</p><p>A tear made its way down the taller woman’s cheek, as she raised her slender hand to cup the softness of Crystal’s cheekbone, “I’m gonna hold you forever, and the wind will never change on us. As long as we stay with each other, then it will always be like this.”</p><p>Not long after, the newlyweds presented their great feast to fill the bellies of the starving townspeople. Ambrosia, the god of food and drink blessed them with it, allowing them to eat and have peace - something which they didn’t get to experience often.</p><p>They feasted, they sang, they told stories and filled their surroundings with laughter and gaiety, until the sky grew dark, and the townspeople dispersed. They left Gigi and Crystal alone, sitting together at the large table, starry-eyed. They remained like that for an hour, Crystal braiding her wife’s hair and peppering kisses along her neck until it began to get chilly, and they knew it was time to go.</p><p>To reach home, the couple would have to take a route through a small woodland forest at the corner of town. They held hands as they walked, and Gigi was fascinated with each animal she saw pass through the bushes. Crystal had to physically hold her back from rushing over to pet a small frog.</p><p>“Come on baby, let’s get ho-” the brunette couldn’t finish her sentence, because suddenly a figure jumped out at her from the bushes, making an attempt to leap at her and tackle her to the ground.</p><p>In a swift move, Crystal grabbed Gigi’s hand and they shot off, headlong, through the overgrown forest. They didn’t know whether or not they were being chased, and they were too filled with adrenaline to check.</p><p>What they didn’t know was that it was a man that jumped from the bushes, and said man had been waiting there for hours, waiting for Crystal to pass so he could go in for the kill. The man was a shepherd called Aristaeus, and ever since the marriage of Crystal and Gigi was announced, he had been plotting to conquer the latter. Much like other men, he desired the nymph for his own, and had planned to annihilate Crystal if it meant he could reach her.</p><p>What they also didn’t know <em>was</em> that he was chasing them, and the chase was lasting a very long time. Thunder clouds roared above them and it was a race against time to see if they would survive or either be killed by Aristaeus or the coming storm.</p><p>On and on they ran together, until suddenly, Gigi fell to the ground. Assuming she had merely tripped on a small branch, Crystal reached down to assist her up, but Gigi’s hand slipped from her grasp. The brunette couldn’t quite comprehend what happened, but she did know that the shepherd was thankfully nowhere in sight.</p><p>Her heart sank when she noticed the deathly pallor in her wife’s cheek. The blonde had always been pale, but the usual rosy tint on her cheeks and lips had completely disappeared. Crystal stopped short in dismay when she stepped back, scanned their surroundings, and saw a nest of snakes right where they had just stepped. Gigi must’ve stepped in it. That was when Crystal noticed a red mark by her lover’s ankle, as well as a gradual swelling around it.</p><p>It turned out that Aristaeus had witnessed the accident occur, and fled straight after. There was no hope in his daydream relationship with Gigi, knowing that nobody survived the bite of a deadly viper.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Crystal felt like she had lost her entire world. Gigi was dead. Her wife was gone and they had barely even had the chance to celebrate their new union. <em>Just</em> when she thought things would be peaceful for once. Her life without Gigi seemed endless, and she lost all the passion that made her shine before.</p><p>The girl was crying onto her hardwood floor when Hermes appeared, looking disgustingly smug.</p><p>“Mr. Hermes…” she sniffled, wiping her tears onto her sleeves. She couldn’t let a <em>God</em> see her like this.</p><p>“Shouldn’t you be working on your masterpiece?” he inquired, gesturing to the girl’s lyre that now hung on the wall meaninglessly.</p><p>“She’s gone… but where is she? I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” she sobbed, trying to refrain from punching a hole in the ground.</p><p>“She called your name before she went but I guess you weren’t listening,” he scoffed before his voice turned serious, “And what if I said she’s down below.”</p><p>“Down below?”</p><p>“Down below, you know… six feet under the ground below.”</p><p>“No-”</p><p>“-So, just how far would you go for her?”</p><p>Crystal’s eyes widened and she wiped her tears, standing up and straightening her back, “To the end of time… to the end of the earth.”</p><p>“You got a ticket?”</p><p>“A ticket to where?”</p><p>Hermes snorted and rested his hands on his hips, “Why, to the underworld of course.”</p><p>“No I- I don’t have a ticket,” she stuttered, nervous with the prospect that she could get her wife back.</p><p>“Yeah, I didn’t think so. Although, there is another way, but I really ain’t supposed to say.”</p><p>“Another way?”</p><p>“Y’know, around the back - but that ain’t easy walking, mortal. It ain’t for the sensitive of souls. Are you sure you really want to go?”</p><p>Crystal felt the tears coming back on, placing a hand over her chest, “With all my heart.”</p><p>“With all your heart? Well… that’s a start. To get to the underworld, you have to take a long way down - through the underground, under cover of night. You must lay down low and keep yourself out of sight. There’s no compass, darling, nor is there a map. All there is is a railroad track. You have to keep on walking and definitely do not look back until you get to the bottomland.”</p><p>She knew what to do now. She snatched her lyre from the wall and began her journey to the underworld. The route had walls of iron and concrete, and there were hound dogs howling around the gate. If she had brought a bone of bread, they would lay down and leave her be, but all she had was her own two legs - still. she was sure glad she had them.</p><p>As she walked, she played her lyre. The air was thick and humid - hard to breathe - yet there was still a chill running through her spine. Her legs were tired, but she showed no sign of stopping. Suddenly, she was hindered by the fates.</p><p>“Who are you to think that you can walk a road alone that no one has ever walked before,” one of them hissed, but Crystal quickly silenced them, continuing to play her lyre and play her melody.</p><p>After hours upon hours of walking, she began to see people. They were working - almost like they were mining. Hermes had told her that she mustn’t give anyone her name, for, in the underworld, nobody had one. She couldn’t look anybody in the eye, or else she’d be sent back home.</p><p>That was when she saw it. She saw two thrones in front of her, one with a majestic looking man sat in it, looking extremely bored. It was Hades, God of the underworld, guarding the gates from people like Crystal. The other sat an ethereal beauty - one of which Crystal had only ever seen in paintings - Miss. Persephone.</p><p>“Hello. My name is Crystal and I demand to be given entry. My wife’s life has been undeservingly stolen from me, and she was dragged down here even though she had so much more of her life to live. She died the day of our wedding day,” the brunette knew she mustn’t cry in front of the all-powerful Hades and Persephone so, for once, she managed to hold it in. “Hades, my great God - you for one should know the feeling of loneliness that is felt when your lover is away from you. So, I beg you to listen to me. Allow me to play you my song.”</p><p>Persephone looked compassionate, and Hades looked emotionless - until Crystal began playing. She started by humming and gently plucking the three strings until she built it up and playing it loud, bringing beams of light to the cave-like room. The hurt in her voice was so prominent, even the coldest of hearts couldn’t remain untouched.</p><p>Suddenly, Hades began to weep. Persephone looked shocked, for her husband had never cried before, but she placed her hand on his back while her own heart melted at the tune. Cerberus, the enormous three-headed hound that guarded the gate to the underworld, covered his ears with his paws and howled in despair.</p><p>After long, Crystal came to a stop, and Hades wiped his tears with a small handkerchief, having to compose himself before speaking.</p><p>“Your song is very beautiful, I must say. It is nothing I have ever heard before,” he stated, his voice deep and booming, “And so, for that reason, I will give you a proposition. I promise to you that, if you retrace your steps, Gigi will follow. Though, I do warn you: If you look back to ensure she is there while you are still in the light, she will be dragged back to my underworld. Are you willing?”</p><p>“Yes,” Crystal gasped, “I’m willing to do anything for my lover… Thank you, Hades. Thank you so much. I will be so grateful to you for the rest of eternity.”</p><p>“Run along then, pretty girl,” he sounded, and she immediately complied.</p><p>As the young girl disappeared into the distance, Persephone turned to her husband.</p><p>“Do you think they’ll make it?” she asked, concern in her voice.</p><p>“I don’t know.”</p><p>“Hades, you let her go…”</p><p>The God sighed, tapping his fingers on the arm of his throne, “I let her try.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Crystal was walking and she just <em>couldn’t</em> hear Gigi, but she knew she was there. If she listened close enough, she would be able to hear Gigi sing along to the song the brunette strummed on her lyre.</p><p>“I’m coming, wait for me… We are not alone - I hear the rocks and stones echoing our song…” the blonde cried, desperate for her wife to know she was there, and that if she kept walking without looking behind, they’d be able to spend an eternity together. “Crystal… I’m coming.”</p><p>The brunette kept playing her tune, despite the immense shiver that filled her body and the murderous gaze the fates kept on her as she walked. Doubt began to roll in, and she questioned Hades’ honesty. There was no way Gigi was near if she was so cold, because Gigi brought warmth to every place she went. She muttered affirmations to herself, but they were futile. She was filled with so much uncertainty. If the ringing of her words in her mind wasn’t so loud, she would’ve heard her wife’s words of encouragement.</p><p>“Crystal, my love. You’re shivering. Is it with cold or fear? Please… keep singing,” her voice was filled with hope, and for once she was the positive one, “Remember; the coldest night comes right before the spring.”</p><p>Crystal kept walking, her tanned fingers whitening with the frost as she continued to strum her lyre. She kept mumbling <em>‘where are you’</em> over and over, as if she were going mad. Who was she to believe that Hades wouldn’t deceive her just to make her leave alone? <em>Where was Gigi?</em></p><p>The light in the distance suddenly became clear. She was so close, and the hope began to consume her again. Still, there was no sound - no branch snapping beneath her wife’s feet - but once more, she felt her presence.</p><p>Gigi began to see the light in front of her too, as her wife walked mere meters away from stepping into it. The blonde walked five meters behind.</p><p>“You are not alone,” the blonde whispered, wanting nothing more to run towards Crystal and embrace her, “I’m right behind you and I have been all along.”</p><p>Finally, after hours of walking in the darkness and the cold, Crystal stepped into the light and finally, she turned around.</p><p>There was a gasp.</p><p><em>“It’s you-”</em> Crystal sniffled, her chest rising and falling at the sight of her beautiful wife. She was covered in coal from mining down below, and she looked frailer than before. Although, she was still so mind-bendingly gorgeous.</p><p>Gigi wanted to smile and embrace her wife, but there was <em>one</em> issue.</p><p>Because Crystal was a few steps in front, she entered the light before Gigi did, but Hades’ proposition stated that Gigi <em>must</em> be in the light before she could turn.</p><p>Gigi was still in the dark. She was yet to see the sun.</p><p>So, before Crystal could lunge forward and wrap her arms around the love of her life, she disappeared in front of her eyes, being dragged back to the underworld.</p><p><em>“GIGI-”</em> Crystal shrieked, attempting to run back into the darkness, chasing after her wife. But, as the rules of underworld stated: <em>No person may enter the realm of Hades twice while still alive.</em></p><p>Hermes guarded her entry after being sent by Zeus, informing her of the rule.</p><p>“But Mr. Hermes… You’ve seen how in love we are… You know us… You- You-” she sobbed, falling to her knees and shaking.</p><p>“Rules are rules, mortal.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>For the rest of her life, the musician was left disoriented and heart-broken. She turned away the touch of any man and any woman, forever mourning her misfortune. It reached a point where she couldn’t bear to look at another woman without being reminded of the pain of the past.</p><p>No longer were her songs joyful - they were sorrowful and melancholy, and they brought misery to whoever heard them. The only comfort she found when she laid herself down on a large rock, reveling in the caress of the breeze.</p><p>One day, a group of women who were angered with Crystal’s ignoration for them, attacked her. Crystal had become so empty and motivationless that she put up no fight. They killed her in cold blood, before throwing her and her lyre into a great river. Her head and lyre floated downriver, towards the island of Lesvos, where a group of Muses found her and gave her the official burial she deserved.</p><p>It is said that her grave emanates quiet, beautiful music because now, her soul had descended down to the underworld, where she could spend the rest of eternity with Gigi.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comments?????????????????????????</p></blockquote></div></div>
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